41 Brand Names People Use as Generic Terms

Many
items we use every day, like zippers and escalators, were once brand
names. Even heroin, which no one should use any day, was a brand name.
These names are or were trademarked, but are now often used to describe
any brand in a product category.

1. Jet Ski

You might think you’re riding around on a Jet Ski, but if it’s not
made by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, it’s just a personal watercraft.

8. Breathalyzer

Breathalyzer is owned
by the Indiana University Foundation. In 1931 Indiana University
professor Rolla N. Harger created the contraption—originally called the
Drunk-O-Meter—as a device to test the sobriety of drivers. Suspected
tipplers breathed into a special balloon, and Harger's device got a
reading on how much they'd had to drink. By 1936 Harger had patented his
creation, and he eventually signed the invention over to Indiana
University.

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9. Zamboni

Getty Images

The Zamboni is an ice resurfacer named after its inventor, Frank Zamboni.

12. Ping-Pong

Ping Pong was trademarked in 1901 as a brand of table tennis products named for the sound the ball makes when it hits the table.

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13. Popsicle

Thinkstock

Popsicle is a registered trademark of Unilever. Like many great
things in life, the Popsicle was invented by accident. As the story
goes, one winter night in 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson left a
mixture of soda and water with a stick in it on his porch. Almost 20
years later, Frank began selling his creation at a lemonade stand and
the treat has been popular ever since.

Today, Unilever recommends that you call generic frozen pops on a
stick “pops,” “ice pops” or “freezer pops.” Although, depending on where
you’re from, offering someone a “pop” could get very confusing.

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14. Q-Tips

When Q-tips were originally released, they were called Baby Gays. The
name was changed to Q-tips—the “Q” standing for quality—in 1926.
Although they have changed hands several times since then, Unilever owns
the brand today.

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15. Rollerblades

Two hockey player brothers designed Rollerblade inline skates from a
pair of old roller skates in 1979. They were the only brand of inline
skates until the mid-eighties, when several other companies emerged.

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16. Scotch Tape

According to legend, Scotch tape earned its name when a frustrated
customer told a 3M scientist to “take it back to your Scotch bosses and
tell them to put more adhesive on it.” Today, Scotch "Magic Tape" is
only manufactured in one place in the world: Hutchinson, Minn.

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17. Sharpie

The permanent marker was invented in 1956, but the Sharpie wasn’t
introduced until 1964. Today, the products are almost synonymous with
one another.

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18. Realtor

Thinkstock

Realtor was a trademark designed specifically to separate its users
from most other real estate agents. To use the word Realtor, you need to
follow a strict code of ethics and be a member of the National
Association of Realtors.

22. Wite-Out

23. Band-Aids

Johnson & Johnson manufactured gauze and adhesive tape separately
until Earle Dickson had the idea to combine them to create Band-Aids
for his accident-prone wife.

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24. TASER

Thinkstock

Taser is a trademark of TASER International, and shouldn’t
technically be used as a verb. To be fair, “Don’t hit me with that
electroshock weapon, bro!” is probably hard to shout under duress. Bonus
fact: TASER is an acronym. It stands for "Thomas A. Swift's Electric
Rifle."

25. X-acto Knife

X-acto began in 1917 as a medical company that created syringes.
Eventually, they began creating surgical scalpels that evolved into
hobby knives. X-acto is a brand and a division of Elmer’s.

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26. Dumpster

Thinkstock

Dumpster is a brand name, which is true, although the word has become
largely genericized and the trademark is not widely enforced. The APA
has even dropped the recommendation to capitalize the word. The Dumpster
got its name from the Dempster Brothers Inc., who combined their name
with the word “dump” to create the Dempster Dumpster.

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27. Novocain

Thinkstock

Novacain is actually the brand name of Procaine Hydrochloride owned by Hospira Inc.

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28. Xerox

Xerox has been trying to stop people from calling photocopying
"xeroxing" for years. "Use Xerox only as an adjective to identify our
products and services," said a 2010 print ad, "not a verb, 'to Xerox,' or a noun, 'Xeroxes.' Something to keep in mind that will help us keep it together."

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29. Post-Its

Everyone knows Post-its, a trademark of 3M, were not the invention of
Romy and Michele. A very different duo is responsible—Dr. Spencer
Silver invented the adhesive in 1968 and scientist Art Fry thought up a
practical use for it in 1974. A few years later, Post-its were available
for sale (first under the name Press ‘N Peel).

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30. Ouija Board

The Ouija Board was first introduced by Elijah Bond in 1890 as a
practical way to communicate with spirits, making dealing with a pesky
ghost much more convenient. Today, it is trademark of Hasbro Inc.

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31. Plexiglas

32. Styrofoam

No matter how many picnics you’ve been to or how much time you spend
at the water cooler, you’ve never had a drink out of a true Styrofoam
cup. Expanded polystyrene is the generic name for the material that we
typically think of as Styrofoam. The brand is a trademark of the Dow
Chemical Company that is made in sheaths for construction projects and
is never made in the shape of a plate, cup or cooler.

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33. Formica

Thinkstock

If not made by the Diller Corporation, you should call it a decorative laminate. Catchy.

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34, 35 & 36. Frisbee, Hula Hoop & Slip'n Slide

Frisbee is currently owned by WHAM-O. In 2010, Manley Toys Ltd.
challenged WHAM-O, arguing that the terms Frisbee, Hula Hoop and Slip’n
Slide have already become generic in the public lexicon, but it didn't
really go anywhere.

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37. Windbreaker

38. Stetson

Stetsons are hats made by the John B. Stetson Company. They are not a
generic term for cowboy hats. And if you use it that way, Stetson will
send you a very terse letter, as the Washington Post found out.

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39. PowerPoint

Thinkstock

On their website, Microsoft suggests that unless you are using their
software, your PowerPoint is a “presentation and graphics program.”

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40. GED

The GED is certainly the most famous of the high school equivalency
diplomas, but this one is trademarked by the American Council on
Education.

When people used to ask me for my "Wite out" in class I would say I don't have any Wite out. They'd get mad saying it was right on my desk. Lol it wasn't Wite out though which is by BIC, I either had the Papermate brand or the Office Depot store brand which my mom always brought from her job.

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